Ning Yao stopped joking with her and began to carefully observe the manor.

"I wonder if there are any dangers at his manor. We should be careful!"

Indeed, as Hua Yan said, there were many animal carcasses outside Zhuangzi.

Ning Yao's heart stirred slightly, and under the cover of night, she collected a portion of it and took it into the secret realm.

She was multitasking, keeping an eye on Hua Yan's movements while also observing the animal carcasses that had been taken in.

Just as she expected, the animal carcasses that were collected emitted faint halos of light before merging into the secret realm.

This time, due to the increased number of animals, the aura took a little longer to blend into the secret realm.

Ning Yao was very cautious. After confirming that the animal corpses were full of spiritual energy, she withdrew her consciousness and planned to go into the manor to take a look.

Unaware of the danger, she reached out to push the door open, but a hand beside her was a step faster.

Hua Yan pushed open the door and went in first. Standing inside, she said to Ning Yao, "Young husband, come in. There's no danger."

A strange feeling flashed through Ning Yao's mind. If there were any hidden weapons or something, Hua Yan was risking her life to scout the way for her.

"Never mind, I'll give her plenty of food when we part ways," Ning Yao thought to herself.

Hua Yan, unaware of her thoughts, turned and walked inside.

"Young master, there are even more corpses inside!"

Ning Yao hurriedly went inside, and felt a chill run down her spine at just one glance.

The vast open space of the manor was covered with animal carcasses, densely packed and piled up in a thick layer.

Ning Yao even discovered traces of large, ferocious beasts inside.

"They're all piled up here. Is there something wrong with this house? Let's see if there's a way in."

After saying that, she took out a tinderbox, made two torches, handed one to Hua Yan, and instructed, "Be careful, call me if anything happens!"

Hua Yan smiled faintly: "This servant understands."

The two went in opposite directions, with Hua Yan in charge of the left side and Ning Yao in charge of the right side.

As they got further away, Ning Yao began to gather the animals at her feet back into the secret realm.

She discovered that the spiritual energy from the batch she had previously collected had been completely absorbed, and the secret realm remained unchanged.

Animals that have lost their spirit are categorized and set aside.

Ning Yao didn't dare to make any obvious moves. She would occasionally look back at Hua Yan and see that she was holding a torch in one hand and struggling to clear animal carcasses with the other to make way for a path.

Even though Hua Yan is a 175cm tall woman, she is also an exceptionally beautiful woman.

Ning Yao felt really bad about making a woman do such a thing.

With a casual wave of her hand, she gathered up most of the animals in front of her, leaving only a few scattered ones. Then she called out to Hua Yan, "There are fewer here. Come here, let's clean this area together, it'll be faster!"

Upon hearing this, Hua Yan rushed over, and indeed, it was just as Ning Yao had said.

"Let's hurry up, it's getting late and colder outside."

Through the torchlight, Ning Yao could see the woman's happy expression and even more clearly her hands, which were frozen purple.

I don't know if the body was bumped or injured during the cleaning process, but it's bleeding now.

Ning Yao couldn't bear it any longer, so she grabbed Hua Yan and shoved another torch into her hand: "You give me light, I'll clean up!"

Hua Yan stared at her, blinked her beautiful phoenix eyes, and looked completely innocent.

No longer looking at her, Ning Yao turned around and began cleaning up the animal carcasses.

Hua Yan followed closely behind her, taking on the task of holding the lantern.

As she turned around, the corners of Hua Yan's mouth turned up almost imperceptibly, her beauty concealed in the night.

Ning Yao worked quickly and soon cleaned up the area at the entrance of the main hall.

Meanwhile, the animal carcasses in the secret realm had piled up into a mountain, which, under the halo of light, resembled a small, glowing mountain.

Ning Yao also sensed a slight fluctuation in the secret realm, indicating that it was about to level up again.

"I wonder what would happen if we collected all the corpses here into the secret realm?" Ning Yao said with some anticipation.

It was already late. Although he already knew the reason for the mass deaths, Hua Yan, who was with him, did not.

If you want to uncover its secrets, you can only do so alone.

Both of them had been exhausted after a long day, and Hua Yan was also completely worn out.

She found a room, pulled out a quilt, and fell into a deep sleep.

Ning Yao pretended to rest and only got up after she fell asleep.

To prevent Hua Yan from waking up midway, Ning Yao gave her a drug that would make her sleep even more soundly.

"You probably won't wake up until dawn."

Having done all this, Ning Yao left the room.

The manor wasn't very large, but it was exquisite, with all the necessary furnishings.

Ning Yao even discovered a hot spring in the backyard.

Upon closer inspection, it turns out to be a naturally formed structure!

Now there's no water inside, just an empty pit.

Ning Yao observed the area around the manor repeatedly and felt that it didn't seem like a place where hot springs could form.

If such conditions exist, why is there only one such place here, and none in other nearby areas?

If the conditions weren't right, how did this natural hot spring form?

Filled with questions, Ning Yao jumped into the pit.

To her surprise, the bottom of the pit was warm, and the temperature was quite high, even in the dead of winter!

If there is water in this pit, wouldn't it become a hot spring over time?

At the bottom of the dry pit, there are still a few drought-resistant but cold-resistant green plants!

"Could there be something underground?"

Ning Yao pulled out a hoe and started digging.

She was very fast, but soon encountered an obstacle and could not dig any further.

She threw down the hoe, then squatted down, and felt the temperature rise a bit more.

Ning Yao reached out to touch it, and it was scalding hot to the touch.

The temperature was felt for only a moment, then vanished the next second, leaving only the lingering warmth of the fingertips.

Ning Yao was puzzled when she suddenly sensed a huge change happening in the secret realm.

Her expression darkened, and the next second her true form entered the secret realm.

A golden, glowing object floated in the air above the secret realm, and one could faintly feel the heat wave emanating from it.

"Is it that thing in the soil?"

The thing floated in the air for only a short time before heading straight for the spiritual spring and sinking into the water.

The spring immediately visibly expanded, and white steam rose from the surface, just like a hot spring!

The lotus in the middle of the spiritual spring trembled gently, comfortably stretching its leaves. The golden flower buds grew larger and slowly opened three golden-pink petals.

The growth of the spiritual spring had not stopped, and several more branches slowly sprouted around the spiritual lotus, growing small golden flower buds, which were also spiritual lotuses!

The growth of the spiritual spring only stopped after the little lotus stopped growing.

It's three times bigger than before, and there's no problem letting three or four people take a bath inside!

Just as Ning Yao had guessed, the spring water turned warm.

Ning Yao suppressed her excitement and checked the condition of the spiritual land.

The sacred land expanded by two acres, and even more strange and wonderful things appeared.

The fresh scent of plants, mixed with a touch of spiritual energy, makes one feel very comfortable.